Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 310,023 Shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in NIKE, Inc., selling over 310,000 shares and now holding just 12,399 shares, which are valued at approximately $787,000.
• NIKE's stock recently traded at $75.51, up by $1.13, with a market cap of $111.52 billion, although the stock has experienced a decline of 11.9% in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analyst ratings for NIKE show a mix of opinions, with one sell, twelve holds, and seventeen buy ratings, indicating a consensus price target of $78.22.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Free Report) by 96.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,399 shares of the footwear maker's stock after selling 310,023 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in NIKE were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EnRich Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 196.4% during the fourth quarter. EnRich Financial Partners LLC now owns 412 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 52.1% during the first quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 587 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 110,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.29, for a total transaction of $7,951,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 842,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,894,276.69. The trade was a 11.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NIKE from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of NIKE to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.22.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NKE traded down $1.20 on Thursday, reaching $74.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,712,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,664,490. NIKE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $90.62. The company has a market cap of $109.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. NIKE had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 23.33%. The firm had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.99 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.07%.

NIKE Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.